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Saturday, June 28 A pre-convention activity kicking off the 93rd RMCMI meeting was a Saturday evening June 28 reception for all Mine Rescue participants, their convention registered spouses, professional evaluators and RMCMI Board of Directors. This was at Buddy's Run in the Sheraton Steamboat Resort, Colorado. An estimated 100 persons enjoyed the buffet: fresh vegetable erudite with ranch dressing, fresh fruit and cheese displays and silver dollar rolls filled with ham or turkey. Blue golf shirts and red caps and convention packets were distributed to each Mine Rescue team member. Evaluators received red shirts and blue caps during the reception. Meeters and greeters from the Reception Committee wore red RMCMI arm bands and were stationed at strategic hotel spots, answered attendee's questions and gave directions to the registration area. Convention packets were first distributed Saturday afternoon by Julie Cummings and Lorraine McDonald. Sunday, June 29 A 7:30 a.m. shotgun scramble kicked off the golf tourney at the Sheraton course for 145 golfers. Yes, 145! as Lois Egan, President Tom's wife, completed a five-some with Tom and their three sons. A continental breakfast preceded the tourney. Another 65 golfers began play at 1:00 p.m. making this a record number of 210 golfers! Julie Cummings and Loren Linville sold $2,620 worth of $10 mulligans to the golfers with proceeds to the scholarship program. [ ] Both golf tourneys were co-chaired by Dave Mallak and Gordon Merriam who distributed prizes at 4:30 p.m. Monday. Prizes were donated by Amax Coal Sales West, Inc.; Austin Powder Co.; BHP Minerals-Navajo Mine; Bucyrus International, Inc.; Commercial Testing & Engineering Co.; Empire Machinery Co.; Ingersoll Rand; The Jeannot Group, Komatsu Mining Systems; Long-Airdox Co.; Marston Environmental Inc.; MEGA Corp.; The P&M Coal Mining Co.; Scandura, Inc. and TerraMatrix. [ ] RMCMI registration was an all day venture headed by chair Julie Cummings and assisted by Pat Johnson. [ ] Nearly 40 persons met for a Chef Demonstration and wine tasting at the Sheraton at 11:00 a.m. Executive Chef Jacques Wilson prepared broiled achiote shrimp with cantaloupe, grilled duck stuffed blue corn pancakes with herb grained bread and fresh fruit meringues. Wilson shared his recipes with the group and appropriate wines were served with each course, all sampled by the attendees. The chef arranged an impromptu showing of the main kitchen following the demo. [ ]

Jan 1, 1997

I have sketches of the radiators, and on this sketch up in here (indicating) we show the line from the fan-exhaust steam from the fan, and the trip spray at the mouth of the mine, which is usually near the tipple, the set of radiators on each side of the entry, exhaust steam exhausting in by the radiators, the small atomizers which I mentioned, and the man sprinkling at the hose. There are times, when at different times we have a man sprinkling during the day time, when he is out of the way, and during the night, sprinkling on the motor roads. I will leave that print up here and let you look at it and if you have any questions you wish answered, Mr. McAllister and myself will be glad to answer them. (Applause.) PRESIDENT PRYDE: . I am going to ask Mr. Hair to leave the sketch on the wall. From the back part of the hall, it is hard to see what is there. The figures are very important. I think one member of this association will be glad to know the cost of water, Friend Littlejohn. MR. LITTLEJOHN: I don't know as I want to ask any questions. The only thing I' would say about the cost there, it is very close to that cost that we tabulated for the Utah Fuel Company at the Utah mines here some time ago. We have not tabulated lately. It may be a little over that at the present time if you take the. labor costs and the material. costs. As I remember, some time ago we did get up some figures and it was, as near as I can remember, exactly two cents per, ton for the labor and material. We haven't got the radiators, etc., that the C. F. & I. have in their mines there, probably due to the fact that we have no shortage of water. We have plenty of that there, and our system is absolutely nothing more nor less than pipe lines, hose and nozzles and the man at the end of the nozzle. PRESIDENT PRYDE: I would like to ask Mr. Hair about the cost of the steam. MR. HAIR: That steam we use there in exhausting, of course, is from the fan, and we have a back pressure valve set right here (indicating), from three to four and sometimes five pounds, and the exhaust from the fan was a five or six inch exhaust, and our exhaust into the mine is nothing less than eight inches, and is practically low back pressure you might say, and all those large radiators, that I spoke of, are heated by live steam, and these probably take a little more coal, but as to just what that cost is I couldn't say. As far as the exhaust steam is concerned, you might as well use it in the mine as discharge it outside. MR. HARRINGTON: Mr. Hair, I would like to ask, is this installation on an intake haulage-main haulage course? MR. HAIR: Yes, sir. MR. HARRINGTON: In the winter time, when it is, say between five or ten degrees below zero, how far into that haulage road does the fogging go? MR. HAIR: Well, that goes in half a mile, sometimes in 3,000 feet. MR. HARRINGTON: Wouldn't that interfere pretty seriously with the motor? MR. HAIR: To some extent, but I wouldn't say seriously enough to interefere with the production of coal. We have one mine we are working in two and three-quarters miles. Our mines are all pretty deep, and we don't find it objectionable. I don't believe that it interferes in the production of coal. I don't believe it makes any more difference between a real cold day in winter time than it does in the summer time. MR. HARRINGTON: I was down at Dawson, and in their mines they have an installation very much like Mr. Hair describes, but we went in there one night and stayed all night, getting a certain amount of data, and the fog was intense for-a full half mile; so intense that you could hardly see your hand in front of your face-see your hand that far (indicating) dis-

Jan 1, 1924

By S. W. Farnham

We have listened to many papers describing mechanical loaders, and systems of mining planned to increase their efficiency. We have become familiar with the various types and in a general way, their capacities and limitations. Messrs. F. E. Cash and E. H. Johnson in Bulletin 17 of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, subject Coal Mining Investigations, have a very complete review of the loading situation then. Mr. A. W. Dickinson, in a recent paper before this Institute, gave a later illustrated review of mechanical loaders. On page 28 of Cash & Johnson's paper is a list of loading machines to which might be added to bring the list down to date, the following: Under Digging and Loading Machines The Goodman Power Shovel Under Scraper Loaders The Goodman 436-G-3 125 H. P. three drum Scraper loader The Goodman 35 H. P. Entry loader and the Two Drum 125 H. P. Hoist built by Vulcan of Denver for scrapers Under Shaking Trough Conveyors The Eickhoff Conveyor The Link-Belt Conveyor The McCarty Duck-bill which is really a digging and loading element built to attach to the end of and operated by a reciprocating conveyor. The outstanding feature in this line of work in the past few years is the fact that a few very successful operations have been worked out on a large scale; the officers and staff in charge of this work have gone into details very thoroughly and altered and improved, in many cases, their mine equipment and mining methods, and by the exercise of persistent energy and intelligent effort, in the face of frequent difficulties and discouragements, they have attained results that are far ahead of the average loader operation. The coal mining industry owes much to these men for the pioneering and development of mechanical loading; their investigations in transport, shooting, shearing, snubbing, cleaning, and production costs, the results of which they have given freely and frequently to the public, are of great value. Foremost among the pioneers in this work are the Union Pacific Coal properties, the Quealy properties, the Sheridan Wyoming Coal Company and in the Central West, the Union Colliery Company of Illinois. On the other hand, in the great majority of installations, one loader, or possibly two or three loaders have been started in a given operation and through failure to make the proper effort to improve their transportation and work out the systems to utilize their loading machines, the loaders have not shown appreciable savings and in many cases, the installation has failed. It has been frequently stated in many meetings where loading has been discussed, that the idea of mechanical loading must first be sold not only to the operating staff but to the entire personnel of any company where installations are made. The problems involved in the successful application of this equipment are such that it requires enthusiastic and wholehearted teamwork on the part of everyone connected with the work and when difficulties arise, they must be ready to exercise initiative and try new ways oftentimes of overcoming impediments. The closest attention now is given to the question of economics how much will a loader reduce the cost of coal in any particular situation? Without fear of successful contradiction, I believe that experience up to date has unquestionably shown that where the shovel type of loader can be properly used, it produces in wide work, the cheapest coal of any loading device yet brought onto the market. Naturally there is a considerable difference between the results from different makes of shovels.

Jan 1, 1926

At the meeting of the American Institute of Mining and Metallurgical Engineers, G. S. Rice, Chief Mining Engineer of the U. S. Bureau of Mines, announced the definition of a gassy mine. This definition has been awaited with much interest, especially by the Safety Committee of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute. It applies to the whole area of all mines, any part of which is on the public domain of the United States. Consequently it will be of wide application in the western part of this country. The safety committee of the R. M. C. M. I. has been hopeful that the Institute would adopt this definition without exception as the codes of rules to be recommended at all mines in the Rocky Mountain area. The statement follows: "The U. S. Bureau of Mines believes that all coal mines are potentially gassy; but for purposes of administration in respect to prevention of explosions and fires, the Bureau recommends the following classification: "Class 1 coal mine-A practically non-gassy mine in which flammable gas in excess of 0.05 per cent cannot be found by systematic search. "Class 2. coal mine-A slightly gassy mine in which (a) flammable gas has been found, ? but in quantity less than two per cent in still air in any active or unsealed-abandoned workings; or (b) flammable gas can be found, but in quantity less than four per cent, in some place from which the ventilating current has been shut off for a period of one hour; or (c) flammable gas can be found,* but in quantity less than one-fourth per cent in a split** of the ventilating current; or (d) flamamble gas is found in quantity greater than' specified rate*** of not more than 25 cu. ft. per minute. "Class 3 coal mine- A gassy mine in which flammable gas is found in quantity greater than specified for a Class 22 coal mine. GENERAL NOTES REGARDING DECISION NO. 3 "(A) Flammable gas found in coal mines is, with rare exceptions, methane. In coal-mining fields where natural gas is found in lower geologic horizons by deep wells which pass through or nearby the coal mines, there have been rare instances of la leakage from the well. Natural gas is chiefly methane; that constituent almost always forms more than 85 per cent of the whole, but it usually contains ethane, propane and traces of butane also. Therefore if the latter gases are found in mine air it is an indication of leakage. The lower limit of explosibility of methane-air mixture when there is turbulence of five per cent and of natural-gas-air mixtures with about ten per cent ethane and associated hydro-carbon gases is 4.6 per cent. The limit therefore varies with the character of the mixture. " (B) To determine the proper classification of a coal mine, it is advisable that systematic testing and sampling be done at least three times in a period of not less than 72 hours. All tests and samples of the mine air, except one, must show an inflammable-gas content less than the maximum limit of the class to which the mine is assigned. In other words, a tolerance of one test or analysis may be permitted to provide for a mistake or a very exceptional occurrence. "(C) When a new mine is being opened in a coal field where existing mines are generally gassy, it is common sense to assume that similar conditions will be found in the new mine, and its development and equipment should be based upon the expectation that it will be assigned to Class 3."

Jan 1, 1926

By D. A. Stout

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute: Your Secretary has asked me to write upon a subject' which is a most interesting one, and which has a very wide scope. In view of the great need for further decreasing costs at its coal mines, the Colorado Fuel and Iron Company began early in 1924 to experiment with methods of mining which had not previously been. tried out at its mines, and which were selected because of the greater possibilities for the concentration of the work, better grouping of workmen, and increased tonnage per workman, with a resultant increased efficiency, better supervision, and lowered costs. Because of the great competition of the day, means and methods must be provided by which fewer mines can be made to produce larger tonnages and at a lower cost. Western physical conditions are such as to make our problems far more complicated and not so easy of solution as compared to many of the eastern fields where conditions are more favorable for the operation of the mines. The dry condition of our Western mines on account of a relatively low humidity, and with additional gaseous conditions, makes the problem still more difficult to solve. A study of new methods was necessary before adoption, and this was particularly true of the method of extracting the coal. Where mechanical means are used, particularly in the coking coal mines of this state, due consideration must be given to the type, and machines or conveyors should not be installed solely on the basis of their performance elsewhere, without the knowledge of local influencing factors. In trying out the newer methods of extraction at our mines, very careful consideration has been given to the question of safety and the adoption of any new methods must provide adequate means of protection to employes, and be approved by' the State Coal Mine Inspector. In any large industry there are a few outstanding operating costs, and usually the leading ones in their order are labor cost, material cost, and power cost. The things which we, hope to accomplish: 1. Reduce labor costs. 2. Reduce material costs. 3. Reduce power costs by the con 4. Reduce the amount of powder used per ton of coal produced. 5. Increase the lump percentage (particularly at the domestic mines). 6. Reduce accidents and annual compensation payment. 7. Reduce haulage costs. 8. Reduce cost for track work. 9. Reduce cost for timber and timbering, and increase the recovery of timber at a considerable additional saving. 10. Reduce the brushing costs. 11. Reduce the amount of rock hauled to the outside. 12. Reduce the cost for drainage. 13. Reduce the cost for ventilating. 14. Reduce cost of inspection and supervision. 15. Reduce the cost for shot firing. 16. Reduction of number of working places. 17. Grouping of men with increased sociability. 18. Increased tonnage per man. 19. Reduction in total number men employed. In the consideration of the methods used and now working successfully, there were three points which were considered outstanding, to make them wholly successful: ventilation, roof control, and transportation. For making the experiments, those mines were selected where conditions

Jan 1, 1925

By J. F. McDermott

The problem of converting our raw coal, and especially those coals that are not suited for long storage, in other words soft, into a fuel which would be at once clean; of a high B. t, u. content and low ash, is one that has occupied the minds of many able chemical engineers and hydrocarbon technologists during the past few years. Low temperature carbonization is the present outcome of this line of research, and many methods have been evolved of recent years to turn out a serviceable, useful fuel, and at the same time, save the by-products. As most of the research and data within my experience and knowledge pertains to lignite or sub-bituminous coals, I will confine my remarks to coals of that character and grade: I might say that Colorado coals, commonly called lignite, are not in reality true lignite, but are sub-bituminous, although I have in my possession an analysis of a Colorado coal which shows a moisture of 17 per cent, volatile 31.5 per cent, fixed carbon 28.8 per cent, and an ash of 22.7 per cent, and B. t. u. less than 8,000. Even this, though useless for domestic or indeed industrial purposes, could not be classified as true lignite. However, for the purposes of this paper I will refer to these coals as lignite. Two thousand pounds, or one ton, of raw lignite carries about 20 per cent moisture. This, of course, varies in some coals, but is, I believe, a fair average. For carbonization purposes this is usually dried to a 5 per cent moisture, therefore leaving but 1,700 pounds of coal to be placed in the retort. From present knowledge, and with the average process of carbonization, 70 per cent of this coal will come out carbonized, or 1,190 pounds, to which is added about 10 per cent pitch, which is fried out as the coal passes through the retort, and which is used as a binder, making a total of 1,360 pounds of coke or carbonized coal. This is usually in appearance a dark colored, rather porous coke of about the size of pea coal. It burns without smoke and have a very high B. t. u. content. According to most authorities on this subject, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur and ash constitute the only elements on which carbonization value of a coal depends, and of these hydrogen is the most important. It is claimed the value of a coal for carbonization purposes may be roughly surmised from the hydrogen content. If this is promising, that is, showing an available hydrogen content of from 3 to 5 per cent, the coal should be given a careful ultimate analysis. Should the seam, as often happens in lignite coals, show varying bands of coal of different structure or appearance, samples should be taken from each band as well as a gross sample taken down the face of the seam in the usual way. This is in order to determine what part of the seam is most promising for by-product processes. A seam showing a high nitrogen content adds to the attractiveness of the coal in carbonizing as; if available nitrogen is 2 per cent or better, it should give a very high ammonia yield.

Jan 1, 1923

At 5:30 p.m. a social hour was held for all RMCMI registrants on the lawn area south of the Gondola Lift House. This was followed by a western steak fry and dancing to the country western band, "The Cat's Night Out". MORNING SESSION Tuesday, June 29,1982 RMCMI golfers came out in force for a shot-gun start of the Championship Golf Tournament at Vail Municipal Golf Course which began its first session at 7:30 a.m. followed by a second at 1:15 p.m. The tournament was headed by William Carpender, chairman and his committee members Gary Bennewitz, Jr. and Gene Christmann. RMCMI members were treated to early morning rolls and coffee in the Conference Center preceding a showing of the RMCMI slide/tape program on enhancing the image of coal mining, by telling the story of the Institute. Following this, the meeting was called to order by President McKeever at 8:30 a.m. when he introduced Mr. Carl Terzian who presented a workshop entitled "Sure You Have an Image - But What Kind?". MR. McKEEVER: Good morning Carl. I see you're ready to address this bright and busy tail audience. One of the things that I really want to point out this morning and I knew we would have a second chance with Carl Terzian but Carl is someone that will leave a good lasting impression on you and what he will hopefully be talking about, as I remember, is that what he's saying here can be used personally, or for company, or for the Institute, or anything else on image. Carl is Chairman of the Board of Carl Terzian Associates. He is a prominent author, lecturer and consultant. He is headquartered in Los Angeles and he's nationally known: governmental affairs, man¬agerial development and executive speech training and has served nearly four hundred clients since 1969. Each year he travels nearly 300,000 miles to address conventions, conferences and sales and management meetings as a motivational speaker. Carl has been speaking professionally for more than twenty-five years. He was graduate magna cum laude 1957 from the University of Southern California where he was elected Phi Beta Kappa and student body president. He later served as State Department goodwill ambassador for President Eisenhower; public relations director for Lutheran Hospital Society of Southern California; dean and professor of political science and speech at Woodbury University and public affairs director for architect Charles Luckman. He has been honored for his civic and philanthropic and professional accomplishments by the Congress and State Department, California Assembly and Senate, City and County of Los Angeles, Her Majesty the Queen of England, and six times by the Freedom Foundation of Valley Forge. Carl, welcome to our Coal Mining Institute and it's been kind of a historical situation on Tuesday morning that we will probably have people straggling in after that wonderful steak fry that we had last night. You're very welcome to come and takeover the command. MR. TERZIAN: Thank you very much Ira. This gives me an opportunity for those who were in my luncheon audience yesterday to again thank you for giving me the opportunity of that platform and for the very kind comments that were made following the address. Those of us who had been working for some months with Ira, Charlie, Betsy and many

Jan 1, 1982

By Geo. A. Murphy

MR. ARTHUR E. GIBSON (General Manager, Consumers Mutual Coal Company of Utah) : I suppose the reason I was called upon to read this paper was because I was at the mine for several years, but I have not been there for the past four years and the installation has been put in since I left. This article has been written by my successor-it follows: At the very urgent solicitation of your Secretary I have consented to prepare this paper descriptive of the spiralizing plant which is a part of the new steel tipple recently erected by the Spring Canyon Coal Company to serve its mines at Spring Canyon, Utah. I have been reluctant in giving this consent for two reasons: one of which is an excellent one, and the other isn't any good at all. First,, I find that it takes a long time to become familiar with the eccentricities of spirals-to get wise to their whims and peculiarities, and while this plant has been in operation for a number of months, something new seems to crop up nearly every time I see it, and -it would be impossible to describe all of these things even if I remembered them. The second reason is, purely personal. Among the many things I have learned by attending the sessions of the Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute is that if a man is not pretty sure of the ground he attempts to cover, he had better keep his mouth shut, because if he isn't right, he is dead sure to be called down by someone. However, as I will not attend the session, this feature will not hurt much, but it will make it necessary for someone else to read the paper and this will make it much better for those who are obliged to listen to it because I don't read English very well. To begin with I will say that what is said in this paper applies only to the plant under discussion as I have had no experience with any other plant. While spirals have been in use for quite a number of years, and there are some large plants in the East, their use has not been general, and I believe the plant at Spring Canyon is the only one in the United States west of the Mississippi River. The details of the plant were worked out by Mr. Thos. R. Stockett, General Manager of the Spring Can= yon Coal Company; it was manufactured by the Anthracite Separation Company of Hazelton, Penn., incorporated in the design and erected by the Link-Belt Company of Chicago, in connection with the balance of the tipple. It consists of five units. Each unit consists of a vertical wood column about 6 inches in diameter, and 9 feet 6 inches in height, around which the spiral is built. It is something like a triple screw conveyor, set vertically, with flights down which the coal and refuse travel by gravity in the process of separation. There are three of these flights, forming a sort of nest but about 7 inches apart, and they make 21 turns around the column in its length. These flights dip toward the column about 27 degrees; they have a uniform pitch downward of 31 degrees; they are 19 inches wide at the top (measured from the column) and taper gradually until they are about 9 inches at the bottom. They are not made with one continuous plate from top to bottom, but are made up of a number of plates. Some of these plates are slightly waved, others have small corrugations in them and still others are perforated with small holes, all of which are intended to accelerate or. retard the movement of the coal and refuse as they pass down, At intervals there are adjustable plates in the flights for the purpose of decreasing the maximum outside;

Jan 1, 1926

By Geo. A. Brown

This paper was written from conditions existing in the Cumberland Mines of The Union Pacific Coal Co., with my impressions and cause of same. These mines are located on a branch line of the 0. S. L. R. R., about sixteen miles south of Kemmerer, Wyoming. The mines are the property of The Union Pacific Coal Company with headquarters at Rock Springs, Wyo. There are two mines, No. 1 and No. 2, located about two miles apart in a seam of coal averaging about 16 feet thick which is split with a parting of rock from 4 feet to G feet from the bottom, averaging from 4 inches to 5 feet thick, mostly of soft fire clay, with an average pitch of 21 degrees to the west. The lower coal below the fire clay band being of a soft nature, much softer than the coal above it. The cover or roof next to the coal is of a massive sandstone formation from 4 feet to 60 feet thick while the floor of the seam is of a soft fire clay as far down as has been prospected. These mines are also of a dry and dusty nature, they generate lots of fire damp and are subject to fires from numerous causes. These mines were opened up in 1900 with five openings each, Main Slope, North and South Manways and North and South Aircourses driven parallel directly on the pitch of the seam which is fairly regular, entries being turned North and South at right angles off the slope about 300 feet apart. The entries were driven double 10 feet wide with chain pillars from 20 feet to 30 feet thick. The main entries are used for haulage and main intake, back entries for return aircourses. Rooms are turned on 50-foot centers and 20 feet wide, directly on the pitch Galvanized sheet iron chutes are used in the rooms. The slopes were driven down in No. 1 mine about 4,000 feet, in No. 2 mine about 5,000 feet where the cover would be about 1,400 feet in No. 1 mine and about 1,700 feet in No. 2 mine approximately. When a point about 2,000 feet on the slope had been reached with cover, 600 or 700 feet squeezing became noticeable on the entries and room pillars with slight bumps which extended clear to the upper entries of the mines and continued to get worse as the mines got deeper and with more cover as no pillars had been removed at this time. It should be stated here that faulty ground was found on the south side of No. 2 mine and on the north side of No. 1 mine, in some places looking like a fault of a down throw, some places like a want and other places like an erosion. The latter theory seems to be correct from prospecting and drilling. The mining of entries and rooms became more difficult with more squeeze and bumps of increased pressure which closed entries and aircourses and finally caused the lower workings of the mine to be abandoned. It was then decided to open up the entries from the 6th up, or approximately half way up the slope. The opening of these entries was started with the intention of extracting pillar coal but considerable danger was met with for the entries .were squeezed tight and when they were disturbed, bumps and squeeze conditions had to be contended with, also gas and fires due to the continued grind on the pillars due to overhead pressure bringing on friction which caused innumerable fires to start in the bottom coal. Bumps being so extensive at times as to close up aircourses for 500 or 600 feet, also discharge timber, coal and rock from the rib of slope and entries for hundreds of feet, dislodging tracks and throwing mine cars around just as if an explosion had taken place, filling places with gas and throwing dust into the atmosphere so that you could cut it with a knife. It became necessary to discontinue the use of black powder and naked lights entirely as a safety precaution. Permissible Powder Monobel No. 5 and Wico Electric Safety Lamps were installed. All coal was shot off the solid whenever it was necessary to shoot. ' In opening up these entries it was found that practically all of the weight was centered on room pillars up to the first crosscut chain pillars and barrier pillars between top of rooms of entry below and the one above which averaged 30 feet thick and in all practically 120 feet of ground. The rooms were mostly open from the first crosscut up to the face which showed that the points mentioned had taken the weight. It was found impossible in some of these entries to drive double entries again as the bumps and squeeze made it impossible to maintain them. This made ventilation quite a problem, small booster fans and flexoid tubing being used for ventilation until one entry could be connected with the one above which has solved most of our ventilation problems so far.

Jan 1, 1924

By D. Harrington

My acquaintance with rock, dusting as a preventive of wide spread explosions in coal mines dates from the fall of 1914 and the spring, summer and fall of 19.1.5 when I had an opportunity to observe the staging (both before and after) of several of the explosions in the Experimental Mine at Pittsburgh and saw violent explosions stopped by rock dust, also saw violently explosive coal dust made insensitive by use of rock dust to ignition or to propagation or spreading of an explosion. From this work I became a convert to rock dusting though I had previously been a firm believer in watering methods and am yet a firm believer that watering, methods have a well defined place in promoting the health and safety of our coal miners. In 1916, while in the Bureau of Mines service, I made an underground study and a report to the Bureau on the first extensively rock dusted mine, in the United States, the Delagua Mine of the Victor American Fuel Company near Trinidad, Colorado, there being then some ten miles of entry in that mine which had been kept well rock-dusted for at' least four years The dust used was " adobe" or surface soil screened from sweepings of the dry surface wagon roads through a screen with one-eighth inch openings, the dust giving about 20% through 200 mesh and about, 10% of approximately 1/8-inch size. The material was collected during dry weather by contract at $1.00 per ton (sacked) and was accumulated in summer and stored for winter and spring use. The dust was scattered through haulage entries by hand or by an electrically operated blower and was held on shelves along the ribs or between and on timber caps with from 1/4-inch to 2-inch thickness of the rock dust. The cost of maintaining the 10 miles of entry well dusted was about $1,500.00 per year or $150.00 per mile per year. Total cost of 'the rock dusting over a four-year period was about $6,000.00, about 2,500 tons of dust being used and 2,000,000 tons of coal produced; the above cost included about 1,200 days labor dusting at $2.50 per day, 2,500 tons of rock dust at $1.00. per ton and miscellaneous labor, material, repairs, power cost, etc., amounting to about $500.00. The cost per ton of coal produced for keeping 10 miles of entry rock dusted being about 3/10c. In addition to the rock dusting, some sprinkling was done, chiefly in the interior of the mine, costing about 2/5c per ton; and due to spilling of coal and sifting of coal .dust through loose cars on the entry floors, the floors of haulage roads were kept sprinkled between and just outside-the rails. Total cost of sprinkling and rock dusting was about .7/10c per ton much less of course than the same work would now cost. Between January, 1916, and July, 1924, my duties in the Bureau of Mines allowed me, to follow up and make underground inspections and reports on more than 20 coal mine explosions and fires in a number of states of the union and in this work a large number of samples of road, rib, and other dusts were taken to ascertain the effect of moisture, roof and floor dirt, etc., upon the propagation or the stopping of the explosion; also a large part of my work was to obtain evidence pro and con as to influences affecting the disasters and very prominent among those influences were the occurrence or use of water, water drippers, or ponds, as well as of sand, roof or floor rock or dust on floor, ribs, etc. The Dolomite explosion near Birmingham, Alabama, in November, 1922, and the Dawson No. 1 Mine Explosion at Dawson, New Mexico, in February, 1923 (at both of which I made underground inspection and report) both starting on main intake haulage road and both in mines which had fairly elaborate watering systems, convinced me that at least as far as freezing can occur on main intake air courses which also act 2s main .haulage ways, rock dusting is likely to be much more dependable than sprinkling. In making up the report on the Dawson Explosion to the Bureau of Mines (copy of which also

Jan 1, 1925

By Thomas Foster

One of the most dreaded things which mining men sometimes have to contend with is underground mine fires, which are both dangerous and expensive. In the Reliance mines we have had considerable trouble with mine fires. We have at the present time five different fire zones, three of these zones give us considerable trouble and the other two have not given any trouble since they have been walled off. Fire Zone No. 1 comprises No. 2, 3 and 4 South Entries, about 50 acres are enclosed in this zone. Fire Zone No. 2 comprises the main drift entry from the mouth to the Old Boundary Plane and extends to the crop line, about 10 acres are enclosed in this zone. Fire Zone No. 3 comprises 1 and 2 North Entries from the main slope to the Old Boundary Plane, a distance of about 1,200 feet, about 15 acres are enclosed in this zone. Fire Zone No. 4 comprises 11/2 and 2 North Entries, a distance of 1,100 feet between New Slope and Old Boundary Plane, about 15 acres are enclosed in this zone. Fire Zone No. 5 comprises the inside end of No. 11/2 and 2 North Entries and 3 North Entry from the New Slope to 30 room, a distance of about 2,600 feet along No. 3 North Entry, about 20 acres are enclosed in this zone. The first mine fire started in No. 2 South Entry in No. 1 zone in 1914. Inside of No. 7 room on the high side of the entry, there was a soft piece of coal. There were no rooms driven in this coal and one day a fire was discovered in the solid pillar on the high side of the entry, work was started at once to load out this fire. and several places was driven into the pillar and cribs built where the coal was taken out, but this method proved a failure and a sand pack was put up along the entry between the track and the high rib. This consisted of timber set about 3 feet from the rib and 2-inch boards put behind the timber and sand or adobe put in between the boards and the ribs, and this method gave very good results except that it required close watching as the sand would settle and let the smoke out between the roof and the sand. Fire broke out in No. 3 South Entry in No. 1 zone in the summer of 1919. We sealed this fire off by building 36 fire stoppings, which also enclosed the fire in No. 2 South Entry and we have never had any trouble with fires in this zone since it was walled off. The fire started in No. 2 -zone in 1919 and has been very active ever since. When this fire was first discovered we built new stoppings in front of the old one in the room necks; we also opened up some of the room necks and loaded out part of the burning coal and rock but this did not help any, the fire, would burn out around the stoppings also burn along the roof between the top coal and the roof sometimes nearly across the entry. Several holes were drilled from the surface to the fire area and flushing the fire was tried but this was also a:\, failure, the rock above the coal was so hot that the mud would dry in the hole and fill it. In 1921 we started to take down the top coal along this entry, timber the entry and put 2-inch boards behind the timber and fill in between the coal and the boards with sand or adobe. We have at present over 1,000 feet of this work done and it has given us better results than any other method that we have tried. As the coal burns out behind the timber the weight breaks the timber and it is necessary to renew some of it. Fire broke out in No. 1 North Entry in No. 3 zone in 1922. There was a stopping in this entry that had been put in when the entry was finished some few years before. The fire burned around the stopping on the low rib of the entry, we built another stopping in front of the old one taking down the top coal and extending it up to the roof also digging in both ribs and setting the stoppings into the coal about 18 inches. This fire did not cause any trouble until June, 1924, when we discovered this fire was very active on the inside

Jan 1, 1924

By Paul Schmechel

This time of year, our lawn is host to goodly numbers of birds - robins, English sparrows, finches of various flavors and some whose names I don't know. We lure them with a feeder in our backyard and I'm sure Patti and I spend several minutes a day watching them through a picture window that overlooks their coming and going. And, while the picture window supplies us with a constantly changing view, it does not treat our winged friends nearly so kindly. You see, at certain times of the day, reflections on our window feed back to our birds a mirror image of the backyard. Lifting off from the bird feeder, they see before them what is behind them. And, not infrequently they fly straight into the window. They stop abruptly, of course. It has to be quite a shock to discover that what is behind you is not the same as what is in front. At this point, I might be tempted to say something about bird brains - except for the fact that we humans also are prone to deceptive images thrown up by the past. Today, I think we hear a great many voices painting past images as they look to the future. We hear that the price of oil soon will rise to its former elevated position; the price of copper will bounce back; a hungry world soon will escalate the demand for food and our agricultural industry will be back in the black. In fact, we can hear hope from many voices telling us that our major resource-rich, basic industries are poised to fly up. I can hope that the voices are right, but I keep thinking that those expressions come from people seeing false images. Most certainly, it is more comfortable to see the past, rather than acknowledge that the world economy is being restructured and that the restructuring is affecting the Rocky Mountain states profoundly and negatively. The worst mistake we could make may be to place too much credence in the images from our past. We can be lulled into a dangerous complacency. What we need is a tighter belt and the will to do some serious bootstrapping. Before proceeding, I would make two points: First, it is not my intent to be a prophet of doom. But I do think we need some healthy doses of realism, if we are to avoid the shock of flying into a false future. Second, by now you have detected that I have choosen to diversify the assignment you handed me on utility diversification. As I proceed, you soon will see that the roots of diversification for many utilities lie in the subject that we ponder now. We could begin in many places, but let's start with energy. It is pervasive in our businesses and industries. We all use it. And, despite conventional economic wisdom, we are using less of it. The price is down, but we have not reverted to our profligate ways. That is true whether you look at the industrial customer or the residential consumer. As a nation and as a people, we have learned to do more work with less energy. A few statistics illustrated the point. If we use 1973 as the base year, energy use in the United States has declined almost I percent. If we examine the year of peak energy use, 1979, the decline approaches 7 percent. Let's look at it another way. In 1973, for every dollar of gross national product, the United States consumed 27,100 Btu of energy. Last year, 1985, the comparable figure was 20,700 Btu - a decline of 24 percent. So, not only are we using less energy, but we are using it more efficiently. Even though the price of energy has declined, we are unlikely to use substand with natural gas and petroleum consumption. Use of natural gas has dropped almost 21 percent since 1973. Petroleum consumption has declined 1 I percent since 1973 and almost 19 percent since 1978, when the U.S. used a record quantity of petroleum. We also know there's been no appreciable change in amounts of oil and gas used since 1981. We weathered both a sharp recession and a healthy recovery without altering the amount of those fuels used. That the use of oil and gas dropped sharply, while the total use of energy merely slumped a bit is easy to explain. The use of coal, nuclear power and hydroelectricity from 1973 through 1985 increased almost 48 percent. Some people will tell you that the large decrease in the price of oil and gas will result in increased demand that will displace coal, nuclear and hydropower. In turn, demand will force the price of oil and gas upward. I doubt it. From the poking around I've done on the subject, I suspect there may be some short-term displacements, but they will be, for the most part, cancelled out by declining use among existing customers. For instance, we all know what has happened in the automotive sector. In 1973, the average U.S. automobile made 13.1 miles to the U.S. gallon of gasoline. In 1984, the most recent available statistic, the average auto made 16.94 miles to the gallon. That's a 19 percent improvement. Because annual miles driven per automobile are essentially unchanged over the period and the number of cars on the road is not increasing, we are witnessing a drop in this segment of the petroleum market. That trend will continue. Now, let's look at energy consumption patterns still another way. Between 1973 and 1985, consumption in the residential and commercial sectors of our economy increased total energy use by 11.2

Jan 1, 1986

ARTICLE I - General Section 1. Name. The name of the corporation shall be The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute. Section 2. Objects and Purposes. The objects and purposes of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute and the nature of the business to be carried on by it are as follows: (a) To sponsor educational programs pertaining to coal mining technologies and production techniques, mining management and safety, federal, state, and local laws, rules and regulations pertaining to coal mining, and other energy related issues. (b) To disseminate to the public and to educational and scientific institutions knowledge, and the results of study and research into recent developments in coal mining technologies and production techniques, mining management and safety, federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to coal mining, and other energy related issues. (c) To do and engage in all lawful activities that further or are consistent with the preceding objects and purposes of the corporation. Section 3. Nonprofit Corporation. This corporation shall operate as a nonprofit corporation under the laws of the State of Colorado. ARTICLE 11- Principal Office and Corporate Seal Section. 1. Principal Office. The principal office and place of business of the corporation in the State of Colorado shall be in the County of Jefferson, Colorado, or at such other location as the Board of Directors may from time to time determine. Other offices and places of business may be established from time to time by resolution of the Board of Directors. Section 2. Corporate Seal. The seal of the corporation shall be inscribed with the name of the corporation, the year of its incorporation, and the words "Colorado" and "Seal," and shall be in a form approved by the Board of Directors, which may alter the same at pleasure. ARTICLE III - Members Section 1. Classes. The membership of the corporation shall be divided into three classes, consisting of active members, life members, and senior members, who shall have such rights, privileges, and qualifications as these bylaws may provide. Section 2. Qualifications. The members of the corporation shall have the following qualifications: (a) Any individual interested in the goals and purposes of the corporation may become an active member of the corporation upon payment of such annual dues as the Board of Directors may determine from time to time by resolution. (b) An individual who has devoted long and dedicated service to the corporation and to its goals and purposes may become a life member of the corporation upon being elected to that status by the Board of Directors, and such individual shall retain such status for life. (c) An individual who has been at any time an active member of the corporation and who has reached 70 years of age may become a senior member upon payment of such annual dues as the Board of

Jan 1, 1994

Pictured on these pages are the seven RMCMI Scholarship Award Winners for the 1987-88 year followed by a brief profile. Six of the winners were present as RMCMI guests at the June convention in Breckenridge, Colorado to receive their recognition plaques at the welcome session held Monday, June 27, 1988. In addition to the plaques, each winner receives $500.00 to be used toward tuition in the coming academic year. Also, as this is a continuing award, the winners from the previous year will also receive an additional $500.00 for tuition use in their senior years provided they have maintained a good academic standing and are recommended by their university. Criteria for these awards is (1) That the award be made in the spring to a sophomore student to be used toward tuition during the junior year. (2) That the recipient be both a U.S. citizen and a resident of the state involved. (3) That the recipient have good academic standing, be pursuing a degree in a mining related field and have an expressed interest in Western coal as a possible career path. The scholarship program was extended in early 1988 to include curricula other than mining department, but in the engineering disciplines, such as geology, mineral processing and metallurgy. Contributions to this worthy project are tax deductible to each individual RMCMI member. Checks payable to RMCMI Scholarship may be mailed to the RMCMI Office at 2700 Youngfield Street, Suite 100 in Lakewood, CO 80215. Profiles of the 1988 winners follow: [ ] Anthony T. Bowler University of Arizona Tucson, Arizona Tony has taken a well balanced curriculum and at the same time maintained significant progress toward a Geological Engineering degree. He is interested in computer science and programs as a hobby He is the master of several computer languages including machine language on different personal computers. [ ] Christopher Taylor Colorado School of Mines Golden, Colorado Before matriculating at Mines, Chris served four years with the U.S. Army Special Forces attaining the rank of sergeant. He is active in the military, serving in the Reserves and R.O.T.C. This duty precluded his attendance at the Breckenridge meeting. He plans to get summer work experience in mining before graduation and is interested in the managerial and technical aspects of the mining business. [ ] Laverne West New Mexico Institute of Mining & Technology Socorro, New Mexico A native American of Laguna/Navajo ethnic origin, Laverne graduated from the Sante Fe Indian School as valedictorian. She served as both secretary and president of the American Indian Science & Engineering Society. She works at the Nevada Test Site with contractors assisting project engineers in a variety of jobs. She plans to earn a dual degree in Mining and Geological Engineering then pursue a Master's degree in Mineral Economics at the University of California at Berkeley. Among her honors are a four year scholarship from Sante Fe Southern Pacific Foundation, a one year scholarship from Mobil Oil Corporation and another from Eastman Kodak.

Jan 1, 1988

Profiled here are the eight RMCMI 2001 Scholarship Award winners. Seven of the eight attended the 97th Regular Meeting and Convention at the Steamboat Springs Sheraton Resort in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in lace June. Each spoke during the Scholarship Awards Monday luncheon and shared their goals with attendees. Thanks to the Patrons of the Institute each student received a 52,000 tuition credit, a plaque signifying the honor and the opportunity to thank the membership. The winners were guests of the Institute Sunday through Tuesday noon and had an outstanding opportunity to meet many in the coal industry that could be potential employers. The state vice presidents host the winners anti pay for their travel and hotel expenses. This is a continuing scholarship and may be renewed for tuition credit again in the senior year it the winner is a full time student and is recommended by the dean of the college or university. A resident from each of the eight member RMCMI states is selected by the Scholarship committee from Board approved institutions. Criterion for the awards is chat the recipient be (1) a full time sophomore student who will use the tuition credit in the junior year. (2) a U. S. citizen and a legal resident of the member state. (3) in good academic standing while pursuing a degree in a mining related field. They must have an expressed interest in western coal as a possible career path. Contributions to this worthwhile project are tax deductible to each individual RMCMI member or his company. Through donations of 5100 or more to the Patrons of the Institute, each new Patron receives a plaque and then a year bar for each additional year contributions are made. Contributions may he directed to RMCMI Patrons, 8057 S. Yukon Way, Littleton, CO 80128-5510. [ ] ARIZONA WINNER Steven W. Shipley University of Arizona The son of Bonnie Fawcett and David Shipley, Steven graduated from Catalina Foothills High School, Tucson, Arizona where lie attained a 3.5 GPA. In his third year at the University of Arizona lie is pursuing, a degree in mining engineering. He is a member of SME, Northwest Mining Association, and a volunteer at San Xavier Mining Laboratory -Miner. He participated in Football, Track, Wrestling and the DECA club while in high school He is the recipient in both the WAAIME and the Phelps Dodge scholarships. Steven volunteers during the academic year at the U of A San Xavier Mining Laboratory. He worked the summer of 2001 at the Black Butte Coal Company in Point of Rock, Wyoming. [ ] COLORADO WINNER Brian Gerdes Colorado School of Mines Graduating as the Valedictorian of Horizon High School with a 4.0 GPA, Brian is well prepared for the rigors of academia. In high school he was recognized in rite President's Education Awards Program and as a Radio Shack Tandy Scholar. lie belongs to SME, is a member of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and volunteers at a local elementary school tutoring children. He enjoys intramural Sports. His father is Bruce Gerdes of Broomfield, Colorado Brian is holding a 3.75 GPA while studying for a mining engineering degree. He would like to go into reclamation scaring that his dream would be to reclaim an old mine and restore it to a function, al role in society again.

Jan 1, 2001

By Lyman Fearn

Men and institutions are what they are largely because of inheritance. Out of the past comes experience that enables men to build more wisely than did preceding generations. The field of possibilities has widened as the horizon of men's vision has been extended. The realization of these possibilities has depended largely on the application of men's natural endowments, brain and brawn, to the problems at hand. In the field of mechanized mining, Wyoming has a greater percentage of men with vision, who have a realization of the possibilities of mechanized mining, than any other state in proportion to tonnage production. With the introduction of mechanized mining systems have come problems that have caused the men who are connected with the safety work much thought. Discussions on mechanical drilling, cutting, loading, conveying, haulage, etc., have come in for their share of the debate. There have been a few attempts made to show that mechanical mining is safer than are the more primitive ways of doing underground work by man power. We also have a number of places in the coal producing States of the United States, where the mechanized systems have been abandoned chiefly on account of the safety element involved bringing about condemnation of the system by State inspection forces. Certain types of scraper systems have been condemned, and some have voiced opposition to long faces. This would lead us to believe that the question is still a debatable one as far as the safety element is concerned. It is only fair that we discuss the operations of mechanical systems and from the results obtained take analysis of conditions as they exist, basing our conclusions from the results obtained.

Jan 1, 1928

By S. W. Farnham

Those who remember the years of patient effort and the slow results obtained in the first introduction of electrical coal cutters and locomotives will, I think, admit that mechanical loading of coal is unquestionably being established at a much more rapid rate than any previous application of machinery to reduce manual labor in mines. There are many operators who consider the progress of the loaders today as slow, but considering the number of years it took to thoroughly establish electrical coal cutters and locomotives, and comparing it with the short time that the mechanical loader has been on the market, and the results that have been obtained today, they will admit, I think, that the progress of the latter is much more rapid. It is about 35 years since the advent of the electrical coal cutter and electric locomotive. Their use has brought about these improved conditions, increased tonnage per mine and other features, which are of assistance to the installation of mechanical loaders. The management and the technical staff in practically all of the American mines are trained in the use of electrical machinery and understand its operation, care and maintenance. . There is frequently, a surplus of electrical power and wiring available to take care of the small requirements of the electrical loader. The mechanical loader, therefore, starts today with the ground prepared for it. Those manufacturing companies who have had years of experience in the design and construction of mining machinery, know in a large measure what to incorporate in their designs to make the parts of the new type of machine effectively strong and to operate with efficiency under the severe conditions encountered in mining service. All these advantages greatly assist the success of a new type of machine such as the mechanical loader. In spite of these advantages, however, there are bound to be some failures. All new types of loaders have to be developed. We hear of some that are a success and some that are set aside. The field of application of each type and its limitations first must be determined by actual operation. The earlier loaders had to be changed and improved in design as weaknesses developed. Not all of the new types of coal loaders have been built by mining machinery manufacturers of long experience, and the lack of experience in this line is responsible for some of the early failures. The coal mining company staffs and also those of the loader companies had to learn what the operating factors were that made mechanical loading a success. The difference in results obtained by loaders in different properties under similar physical conditions indicates that the mine management is a very large, if not the major factor, affecting the efficiency of mechanical loading. Many articles have been written on the question of loading. The subject has been quite fully discussed at recent coal meetings and in the technical press. It is not always as easy or simple a matter to form conclusions as may first appear as to one's own particular loading problem. Mechanical loading is a comparatively new art, and many companies while claiming that loaders are quite successful, do not have an accurate line on the actual saving they are affecting. Many of them have only a few of the factors taken into account in their costs. Many loaders have been generally bought without very careful consideration given to all details and except where extremely favorable conditions prevail, failure resulted. When contemplating the installation of mechanical loading, one naturally desires to select the type of loader that will, fit his mining conditions. The things

Jan 1, 1924

By Gary Carmack

Overview: Public awareness of the drug abuse problem within the government and industry is growing each day. The economic cost to industry is staggering-estimated to be more than $50 billion per year. Employee drug testing programs are one way to combat the problem, yet they are not without legal and scientic pitfalls. Some of the issues and needs that should be considered before implementing or continuing a testing program are: Why test? What do you test for? Are the results accurate? What impact will the new Federal Rules have? Accuracy of the testing continues to be controversial, especially when the "poppy-seed" and "cold-medications" issues are mentioned. The new Federal laboratory certification program which is about to start, should reduce or eliminate the question of lab error. Determination of on the job impairment will, however, continue to be a problem.

Jan 1, 1988

Past President Ralph Moore opended the meeting at 9:30 a.m. He thanked all the committees for their part in making the 1977 meeting the success is was. He then turned the meeting over to President-elect, Shirl McArthur. President McArthur called on the Auditing Committee to present its report. Gabe Ishley, Chairman, read the report and asked that it be approved. A motion was made, seconded and carried. Loren Linville gave his report on registration and new members which figures are in the Monday a.m. business meeting of the Proceedings. The Resolutions Committee was asked to give its report. William Bear, Chairman, submitted the following: (1) RESOLVED: WHEREAS, in the year since the last convention of The Rocky Mountain Coal Mining Institute, the Institute and the coal mining industry have suffered the loss through death of the services of: John A. Garcia John B. Huehes H. B. Lindeman Richard B. Miller Charles Pliley Wilford Ruff James Westfield

Jan 1, 1977

CHAIRMAN ALLEN: Gentlemen, I have been asked to call this meeting to order by Mr. Marchant, and am acting here temporarily in the absence of Mr. Nyman, who is unable to be with us. Mr. Nyman sends the following telegram: "Will not be able to be present at the Institute meeting. Serious illness of my father has made it necessary for me to remain in Salt Lake Please arrange substitute. Very sorry." In addition to having to pinch-hit for Mr. Marchant and President Nyman, I am here representing the Governor of the State of Colorado also who is unable to be here. The Governor of Colorado is a very busy man. His appointments are made months ahead. We only got word of the possibility of his addressing this meeting yesterday morning, and I went over to the Governor's office this morning to see if there was any possibility of getting him here, but he had been booked up for two months ahead of this time to appear at the convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars in Trinidad, Colorado, where he is today, and which makes it impossible for him to attend this meeting. I know that he would have liked to have been here with you, as there is not any doubt but what the Governor of Colorado has the interests of the mining industry at heart. This was manifested last week when he called a meeting of representative men of the different lines of industry so that we could arrive at some results and some arrangements to see if it was possible to get at the bottom of the condition causing our bad times, and the appointment of commit- tee groups to find out what these problems were and to see if they could get any possible solution to them. The meeting was adjourned with the suggestion that those who were present would among themselves select such committees to investigate the conditions of the coal mining industry, and offer suggestions for betterment.

Jan 1, 1938